Google, Microsoft tablet gain ground against Apple iPad

The good: The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 delivers a mostly pure Android 4.0 experience for only $250. The tablet also trumps the Kindle Fire in extras by including dual cameras, expandable memory, and TV remote-control functionality.The bad: The screen doesn't look as pretty as other PLS displays, and its camera performance is lacking compared with other tablets in the line.The cost: $194.99 to $275.12The bottom line: The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 offers an excellent value and a full Android 4.0 experience unmatched for the price.

Apple's share will slip to 46 percent from 51 percent last year, IDC said. Sales of smaller, cheaper alternatives to the iPad, including machines from Amazon.com Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., are aiding Google's gains on Apple.

"One in every two tablets shipped this quarter was below 8 inches in screen size," Jitesh Ubrani, an analyst at IDC, said in the statement. "We expect smaller tablets to continue growing in 2013 and beyond." Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 8 software will be used on 7.4 percent of tablets by 2017, up from just 1 percent last year, IDC said. Devices with the operating system, including Microsoft's Surface tablet, will take share from both Apple and Google.

As multi-functional tablets gain in popularity, fewer consumers will buy dedicated e-readers from Amazon or Barnes & Noble Inc. After peaking at 26.4 million units in 2011, e-reader shipments slipped to 18.2 million last year and will "grow only modestly" this year and in 2014 before starting a gradual decline by 2015, IDC said.